Tracking with LED Car Rings

FINALLY! Something that makes my kids look at what they are reading! I don't know about you, but my students are experts at fake reading...you know, they memorize the words  and 'read.' When I tell them to point as they read, they (okay half of them) randomly point to words with a smirk on their cute little faces. My personal favorite is when they are 'reading' the words from their decodables,  but their eyeballs are glued on me (side note: I started to tape sight words on my clothes; I figured if they're going to stare at me while they read, they might as well see real words written on me).

Back to the LED car rings! I LOVE THEM and so do my students! They were excited to use the 'highlighters' to highlight the words as they read (I told them they were just like Wyatt, from SuperWhy who uses a highlighter to read words). They actually even placed the car rings on the pointer finger (and not the middle finger - that some of darlings not knowingly use - gotta love kindergarten!) I dim the lights so the ring lights are focused on their words. They were able to read for 7 minutes all by themselves AND (get this), they actually pulled out their reading box to read some more! The ring lights are super cheap too (you can get a set of 20 for less them 10 bucks).

Kindergarten Common Core

It's time to get serious with Common Core and the Kindergarten Common Core Book is an amazing resource to have. It has over 600 pages packed with ready-made activities and centers. The graphics are adorable (most of which are from ScrappinDoodles - love them). The book is divided into Math and English Language Arts and each activity has the Common Core standards on them (so when someone comes into your room asking what you're doing...you can tell them exactly what Common Core Standard you're addressing). I have the Common Core State Standards for First Grade Book and I love it! It's teacher-friendly and gets straight to the point (no theory and love winded-conversation over nothing), this book is all about how to help students meet the Common Core Standards. It's $40.00 and well worth every penny.

Kinder Writing Tool

 

I blogged about this before, but I thought I would review one of my favorite writing tools: THE SPACEBOY/GIRL! Why spend money on Spacers, when you can make them for $0.99! WHAT?!?! That's right, I bought a bag of clothes pin from the 99 Cent store and the students had fun decorating their Spacers. Since they made their own, they love to use it to create spaces between words and as reading pointers.

Here is how I introduced the Spacers:
1. I chose one student's name and use magnets to demonstrate that letters are only letters, until they are 'pushed' together to create a meaningful word.

2. Then I would create a simple sentence with the student's name: I see Johhny. While I am writing the sentence, I use Mr. Spaceman (my giant spacer - made from a paint stir stick - FREE), to separate the words.

3. We count the words in the sentence (there's 3) and read the sentence with Mr. Spaceman pointing to each word.

4. I would then rewrite the sentence, but this time, I smushed all the letters together: IseeJohnny. We compare which sentence is easier to read and the students would come up with the reasons (i.e. the words are too close, can't tell where a word begins, hard to read etc). Sometimes, I would purposely put two students' names together and someone would always raise their hand and state that "That's not how I write their name." Then Mr. Spaceman comes to the rescue!

Story Telling with Puppet Pals App

Puppet Pals is a great app! My students use the Puppet Pals app (compatible with iPad - but it works on an iPod too) to retell stories. They are able to choose the characters and settings. Then, they recorded themselves telling a story. It's great for those shy students. Below is a sample story (I'll admit, I tried to persuade them away from the 'helpless princess' but the kindies vetoed me), they made up everything, including the story line. The focus was dialogue, so they played the parts of the characters. Here it is: from start to finish it only took 5 minutes!

Sight Word Booklet

 I finally got around to making a Sight Word/Word Family Booklet. The original idea came from Sue from The Very Busy Kindergarten. Click on the link to see her great booklet, she also does an excellent job explaining how to make them.  

I finally got around to making one (yep..Sue doesn't lie when she says it's A LOT of work, but I think it's worth it). I changed it a bit, in that I used regular index cards and a binding machine to save $ (instead of buying a spiral index pack which is expensive). I had 3 of my students cut and glue the cards in their notebooks to see how it would go, but..it didn't work out too well, so Ill be making them. Not happy about it, but like I said: I think it will be great for the kids. 

The sight words are based on McGraw-Hill Treasures Kindergarten Sight Words and I added a few from the top 25 Fry and Dolch Word List, along with easy to read sentences. Students will trace the word, put dots under each word, and highlight the sight word in the sentence. The eyeballs in the corner reminds them they must know the word  by sight.  On the opposite end of the booklet, is where the word families will be, It's exactly like Sue's. 

If you would like a copy of the Sight Word cards for the booklet, let me know and Ill be happy to send it to you. I plan on making another booklet for students who are ready for Booklet 2. 

Cat in the Hat Mini Centers

I finally completed the Cat and the Hat Mini Centers. It's just a dollar at TeachersPayTeachers! It's my official first item on TPT. (Now I know how hard it is to make these little units.) It has 32 pages for PreK or Kinder Kids.  I would love feedback, so the first 3 people who leave a comments that follows my blog or TPT store, I would LOVE to send this completed unit to you. I only ask for either feedback to help me improve for next time!

Thinking Maps for Kinders

I wanted my little students to become familiar with the Thinking Maps we use in the classroom, so I made these mini-posters to help them. The purpose is to help them (eventually) choose which Thinking Map they should use and know how it helps them organize their thinking and writing. Note: There are 7 total I made. The circle map doesn't contain a 'Frame of Reference' since I found that the 'Frame of reference is always the same - family, teacher, school, etc. I also chose to use the word Venn Diagram in lieu of Double Bubble - personal pet peeve of mine when (might as well teach them correctly the first time, so they don't move on to middle school still calling it a Double Bubble).  Click on the picture above to download. The font wasn't coming out correctly on scrib, so if you want the pdf file directly, just send me an email/comment. Happy Thinking!

Space Girl/Boy for Writing

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I noticed that my Kinders were having a difficult time tracking words (they are expert memorizers and would simply point at anything on a page and say the sentence) and they also had a hard time putting spaces between words. Here comes Space Boy/Girl! I found a bag of 30 clothespins from the dollar store (unbelievable deal - if you bought them it would cost $12 bucks). The Kinders decorated their spacer and loved it..plus it works. They like owning  their own tools for learning. I'm going to have them decorate another spacer to keep at home.

Pop ABC Words

Long ago I bought popcorn containers from the $1.00 section at Target (aah..love Target). I finally got around to making the 'popcorn.' Students will take turns picking a card and saying the letter. If they say it correctly, they get to keep the card. The goal is to get as many cards as possible, but if they pull out the 'Pop!' card, they must put all their cards back in and start again. When students know the letter names, they can say the sound too. Click on the picture to get a copy. If you download it, please leave a comment or follow me! ~ It makes me happy! :)

What's in a Name?

Originally, I was simply happy with my students knowing the letters to their names and how to write it (albeit with all capitals or backwards letters). Now, it's time to write it, right, so I made this trace, stamp, and write it worksheet. I will write their names using a highlighter (a KinderTeachers's favorite marker!), they trace it, stamp it, and write it on their own. Crossing my fingers and testing it out tomorrow at the centers. If you would like a copy, let me know and I'll upload it.